About this event
Join Bill McKibben and renowned public relations expert David Fenton (author of The Activist’s Media Handbook) for a conversation about the importance of crafting a compelling narrative to promote social change, and how your personal story can fit into that narrative. Third Actors are increasingly active in the public square
as both our democracy and our climate face unprecedented threats. Whether it’s attending public hearings and town halls, contacting elected officials, or hitting the streets with a protest sign, the media is paying attention to this new outpouring of “elder activism,” and you – yes, you! – can help shape the way this historic story is told.
Bill and David will be joined by Third Act staff and volunteer leaders with decades of
experience in public relations as we explore how you can craft effective narratives and messages that will help you feel comfortable talking with members of the press. You’ll meet new people and learn some practical tips, tools, and skills for media outreach.
You can practice your new skills with reporters as soon as July 17! Nationwide “Good Trouble Lives On” protests are scheduled that day to honor the fifth anniversary of the passing of Civil Rights icon John Lewis, who
coined the term “good trouble.”
David Fenton
David Fenton, named “one of the 100 most influential P.R. people” by PR Week and “the Robin Hood of public relations”
by The National Journal, founded Fenton in 1982 to create communications campaigns for the environment, public health and human rights. For more than five decades he has pioneered the use of PR, social media and advertising techniques for social change. Fenton started his career as a photojournalist in the late 1960s – his book Shots: An American Photographer’s Journal was published in 2005. He was formerly director of public relations at Rolling
Stone magazine and co-producer of the No-Nukes concerts in 1979 at Madison Square Garden with Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, and other artists. He has also helped create JStreet, Climate Nexus, the Death Penalty Information Center, and Families for a Future. He sold Fenton a few years ago to work on climate change full time.
Bill McKibben
Bill McKibben is a contributing writer to The New Yorker, and a founder of Third Act, which organizes people over the age of 60 to work on climate and racial justice. He founded the first global grassroots climate campaign, 350.org, and serves as the Schumann Distinguished Professor in Residence at Middlebury College in Vermont. In 2014 he was awarded the Right Livelihood Prize, sometimes called the ‘alternative Nobel,’ in the Swedish Parliament. He’s also won the Gandhi Peace Award, and honorary degrees from 19 colleges and universities. He has written over a dozen books about the environment, including his first, The End of
Nature, published in 1989, The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at his Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened, and his latest book is Here Comes The Sun.
